Mick secures a futile draw

BALLINACOR KILMACANOGUE 3-12 2-15

THERE were no winners but two losers at Ashford on Saturday as Ballinacor and Kilmacanogue cancelled each other out in a slobber knocker.

Both sides went for the jugular in the first period but a pair of goals saw Ballinacor shading proceedings. They required a victory to secure a quarter final spot.

Kilmac needed to triumph too but in their case, they just wanted to avoid the relegation play-off. They leaked a third goal in the second period and but kept chipping away and a green flag from their captain Robert Conan threw his side right back into contention and by the final whistle both sides slumped as their respected hopes faded.

Early in the first half, the sides went tit-for-tat. Mick Whelan and Niall Meldon shared three points apiece for the Sugarloaf men but Ballinacor kept pace before landing their first three-pointer.

That lead barely lasted a minute though as youngster Sam O’Callaghan immediately fired back with a net-burster of his own.

The sides continued to trade points until referee Garrett Whelan awarded Ballinacor a penalty and two subsequent points earned them the slenderest of leads at the interval.

They then ran in three unanswered points and Kilmac were in danger of being cut adrift before singles from Sam O’Callaghan, Aaron Creavin and Ben O’Callaghan dragged them back into it.

The tie swung again as a strike dropped in under the crossbar to land Ballinacor their third goal but Conan offered a speedy reply at the other end and a Cian Rafferty post-splitter quickly levelled matters.

Only minutes remained at this point and things were on a knife edge. The last eight was in touching distance for Ballinacor, while Kilmac’s toes dangled precariously over the trapdoor.

Ballinacor nudged ahead, Sam O’Callaghan rallied, Ballinacor asked the question one last time but Mick Whelan had the answer as his nerves of steel saw him angle over a 45. Ultimately, the draw did nobody any favours.

Scorers - Ballinacor: Ger Byrne 1-4, Conor Parsons 1-1, Philip Byrne 1 goal, Brian Hanlon 0-1, James Murphy 0-2, Paddy Byrne 0-2, Ronan Phelan 0-1, David Carter 0-1.

Kilmac: Michael Whelan 0-6 (3 F’s, 45), Sam O’Callaghan 1-2 (1 F), Robert Conan 1-0, Niall Meldon 0-3, Ben O’Callaghan 0-2, Aaron Creavin 0-1, Cian Rafferty 0-1.

Ciaran O’Neill, JP Byrne Martin Byrne John Devitt, James Byrne Philip Byrne Peter Kennedy, Paddy Byrne Danny Dowling, David Carter Conor Parsons Ronan Phelan, James Murphy Ger Byrne Brian Hanlon. Subs: Jamie Nolan and Danny Byrne

Conor Finn; Donal Tuohy, Bob O’Donnell, Joey Molloy; Craig O’Neill, Cian Rafferty, Marcus Rafferty; Ben O’Callaghan, Gavan Burke; Aaron Creavin, Robert Conan, Michael Whelan; Sam O’Callaghan, Andrew Molloy, Niall Meldon.

Garrett Whelan.